Mr An Duy Phan

Honours thesis

Metarouting

The Internet is a massive, world-wide network of computers that has grown in size beyond the expectations of the engineers who created the original ideas for information sharing between computer users. There was no prior planning or consideration for a network structure that would grow to be this large. Instead, the concepts used to build and operate the Internet today have developed as the Internet has grown. This has led to the realization of many problems. The Internet is not as efficient as it could be and competing commercial interests that transmit information across the network of computers is threatening to reduce efficiency even further. This thesis examines some general aspects of the operation of the Internet and the specifics of problems that arise using the current software designs (protocols) that decide how data is transmitted across the Internet. In examining the literature on current protocols and the associated problems, it becomes apparent that the policies implemented by network administrators who control very small portions of the Internet can be in direct conflict with the efficient operation of the Internet and quality of service provided to Internet users. Currently, the most successful research efforts to reconcile these local policy decisions appear to be mathematically rigorous descriptions that can quantify both local network policy and quality of service. This type of mathematical description allows for the development of new computer languages and algorithms for networking software that can determine if the policy decisions of local network administrators will interfere with the overall operation of the Internet. Two of the most promising rigorous methodologies, the path vector policy system and the algebraic formulism for network routing, are examined and compared. Some advantages of the algebraic formulism and the new metarouting computer language for network routing developed from the algebraic formulism are considered in detail.